Pakistan aids Insurgency in Afghanistan, reports assertThe New York Times
Americans fighting the war in Afghanistan have long harbored strong suspicions that Pakistan's military spy service has guided the Afghan insurgency with a hidden hand, even as Pakistan receives more than $1 billion a year from Washington for its help combating the militants, according to a trove of secret military field reports made public.More

View is bleaker than official portrayal of war in AfghanistanThe New York Times
A six-year archive of classified military documents made public offers an unvarnished, ground-level picture of the war in Afghanistan that is in many respects more grim than the official portrayal. The secret documents, released on the Internet by an organization called WikiLeaks, are a daily diary of an American-led force often starved for resources and attention as it struggled against an insurgency that grew larger, better coordinated and more deadly each year.More

In disclosing secret documents, WikiLeaks seeks 'transparency'The New York Times
WikiLeaks.org, the online organization that posted tens of thousands of classified military field reports about the Afghan war, says its goal in disclosing secret documents is to reveal "unethical behavior" by governments and corporations. Since it was founded in December 2006, WikiLeaks has exposed internal memos about the dumping of toxic material off the African coast, the membership rolls of a racist British party, and the American military's manual for operating its prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.More

Gates recaps discussions with Indonesian leadersU.S. Department of Defense
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said discussion of "broadening, deepening and elevating ties" between the United States and Indonesia highlighted meetings he had with the country's president and defense minister. Gates met with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro shortly after arriving from Seoul, South Korea.More

As tensions rise, US and South Korea begin drillsThe New York Times
The United States and South Korea began their largest joint war games in years, with a nuclear powered American aircraft carrier prowling off the east coast of South Korea while North Korea threatened to retaliate and reportedly put its military on alert for war. The rising tensions demonstrated just how tenuous peace has been on the divided peninsula since the Korean War was halted, 57 years ago, by a cease-fire between the United States-led forces of the United Nations and the Communist troops of North Korea and China.More

Special operations and medicine todayThe Year in Defense
Every American warfighter now goes into combat with a personal first aid kit and Combat Lifesaver training to provide both personal and buddy medical care immediately. Only moments away is a Combat Medic, trained beyond the capabilities of previous battlefield medics, whose job is to stabilize the patient pending medical evacuation, often in a matter of minutes, to a field surgical care facility and, usually within 24 hours, back to Europe or the United States for top-level hospitalization. Except special operators.More

Veterans can have seizures decades after a head injury, study findsLos Angeles Times
Soldiers who suffered brain injuries can develop seizures decades — as long as 35 years — after the initial injury, researchers have found. A study published in the journal Neurology found that among a group of 199 Vietnam veterans, about 13 percent developed post-traumatic epilepsy more than 14 years after they had suffered a penetrating head wound, such as a gunshot injury or shrapnel that entered brain tissue. Penetrating head injuries are generally linked with a higher risk for epilepsy than other types of head injuries, such as concussions.More

Helping soldiers cope with traumaThe Wall Street Journal
The seed for today's Musicorps was planted inside Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2007. Arthur Bloom, an accomplished musician and composer, was asked if he could talk with a veteran who was receiving medical care at Walter Reed. When Mr. Bloom learned the veteran had been a drummer, he suggested the man resume playing, despite having lost one leg due to an injury sustained in Iraq. Over the course of setting up electronic drums for the veteran, and as they experimented together with different prosthetics, Bloom realized there was a dire need for a revolutionary music program at the medical center.More

House, Senate battle over Iraq, Afghanistan billThe Washington Times
A long-stalled bill to help pay for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars is back at the feet of House Democrats, who must decide whether to accept the Senate's leaner proposal or keep pushing for billions of dollars in extra domestic spending — a politically risky move that could further delay resources to U.S. troops.More

Defense board to recommend that Gates eliminate Joint Forces CommandThe Hill
The Defense Business Board, the Pentagon's independent board of economic and business advisers, has been tasked by Sec. of Defense Robert Gates to recommend options for reducing the Pentagon's overhead, or indirect operating expenses. The board is also expected to offer recommendations on making the Pentagon's business operations more efficient.More

No more C-17s for the Air Force ?The Year in Defense
As government prepares for debate in the fall over the fiscal year 2011 defense budget, some observers believe that a Washington tradition – an annual budget slug fest over the Air Force's hefty C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter – won't happen this year. For the past several years, two successive administrations – both with Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense – have sought to end C-17 production for U.S. forces, arguing that the current "program of record" of 223 Globemasters gives the United States more of the big transports than it needs. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., supports the Obama administration view of the C-17 as expressed by Gates.More

Navy prepares to begin implementing electronic leave systemThe Flag Ship
Beginning in August, the Navy will implement a self-service, paperless electronic leave system that will help safeguard personal information and cut processing time in half. According to NAVADMIN 103/10, Self-Service Electronic Leave (e-Leave) is a Web-based program that Sailors access through their Electronic Service Record and is projected to provide a significant savings in man hours and processing time.More

National Guard (In Federal Status) and Reserve activated as of July 20, 2010U.S. Department of Defense
This week the Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard announced a decrease in activated reservists, while the Navy announced an increase. The net collective result is 1,782 fewer reservists activated than last week. At any given time, services may activate some units and individuals while deactivating others, making it possible for these figures to either increase or decrease.More